TVES Announcements

Visioning Summaries

Draft --
Distilled/Weighted Responses

to Visioning
Survey and Sessions

(This is only a report on
responses and not a final product.)

Explanation of the “distillation” process:

These results include the responses of approximately 90
teachers/staff and 30 parents and community members from the group visioning
sessions and 45 responses from an electronic survey posing the same questions
as the visioning sessions. It also
includes responses from all students K-12 from all three schools. Some further work needs to be done to
incorporate the results from the lower grades of the students because the
questions and process was different and less intensive that those with the
adults and staff.

Each response to these questions was assigned a common trait or
identifier according to the nature of the response. For example, responses to the question of an ideal student
that related to human character, such as resilience, honesty, responsibility
were tagged with the identifier “character.”

The purpose of this process was to group responses into common
categories. Many responses were similar in nature but expressed
differently. In order to recognize
those responses that were valued the most--we need to distill the response into
common traits otherwise they would underweighted in the summaries.

The goal is to
reduce the number of responses through common identifiers so that we could
accurately measure the weight of the total responses--which common identifiers
appear most frequently.

Once we identified the most frequent responses through the common
identifier--which ideas were collectively valued the most--we established
“primary responses” and then also “secondary responses”. When this was established we went
back to flesh out actual responses and used those responses collectively to
articulate what was actually being said.

In many cases, actual words or phrases were used to articulate
the values in the below summaries.
In some cases, the collective responses were reworded or rephrased to
represent a more complete picture of all the responses.

The following summaries below are still in a rough concept form
and have not been further developed or expanded upon.

Primary Values -- The Schools

Learning Environment

A positive, energized environment that inspires learning. An environment that is focus on
education. A hum of positive
activity, relaxed yet controlled environment. All parties are engaged and enthusiastic. Laser focused on student learning and
engaged with students. A cauldron
of creative activity where students and faculty are engaged. Fun and full of school spirit. A place where learning is valued.

Welcoming Community/Safe

A strong community where everyone feels safe and included. A sense of belonging and identity in
the school. Positive, nurturing.
Attention to social issues, support systems and appreciation of
differences. Parent and community
involvement. Accessibility. Student friendships. A social climate respectful of
all. Friendly. Inviting. A place that makes you feel good,
valued and respected.

The Building

Paying attention to the quality of the building interior. Focusing on things such as
murals,natural lighted areas, open areas, finding ways to extend the school
outside the building to the school grounds. Clean, organized.
Attractive and well laid out.
Looks like a 21st century school.

Secondary Values

Great Teachers

See the values for teachers for further elaboration. It is important to note that a very
large number of HS students identified this aspect of the school in their minds
as an ideal school.

Academics/High
Expectations

This could also tie in with the learning environment. A key emphasis was high
expectations, challenging, rigorous. More of this can be elaborated in the section on Learning.

Leadership

Effective, supportive, consistent leadership that is respective
and proactive. Having a clear
focus and vision. System where
leadership is valued and fostered.
Strong disciplinary back-up.
Consistent, strong leadership qualities in administration.

Primary Values -- The Learning

Academic Rigor (21st
Century Skills)

All of Tony Wagner’s concepts of 21st century learning, including
creativity, innovation, problem solving, learning how to learn, learning to use
resources, public speaking. This
was the primary value for the teachers and staff and very strong value for
community and parents. There
was a very clear understanding and recognition by all groups of adults in the
value of academic rigor.

Other aspects:

independent thinking

open minded, diverse thinking

problem solving, multiple approaches

independent and group projects

analyze and critique

communication, public speaking

academic rigor rests on strong core abilities

real world problems, real world skills

innovation and creativity

decision making

learning how to learn

versatility adaptability

Tony Wagner’s 21st Century Skills (These items below were not
from the sessions, these skills identified are the work of Tony
Wagner--Harvard, Education Specialist, in his book, The Global Achievement
Gap. They are listed below because
they represent the best articulation of Academic Rigor.)

Critical Thinking and Problem
Solving

Collaboration across Networks
and Leading by Influence

Agility and Adaptability

Initiative and Entrepreneurialism

Effective Oral and Written
Communication

Accessing and Analyzing
Information

Curiosity and Imagination

Innovation and Ingenuity

Core Knowledge and
Skills:

A proficiency in the the core areas of knowledge such as reading,
math, science. Proficiency in the
core skills, reading, writing, communication. Also to include core knowledge essential for citizenship and
global citizenship, knowledge of the world, the relationship to the
environment, and environmental stewardship. Core knowledge and skills was the primary value for
community and parents. It rated
very strong with staff and community attended sessions. Notably, academic rigor
was the primary value for teachers and a strong second for community/parents in
the survey.

The core message seems to say, whatever we decide to do, our
primary focus is to deliver core competencies to high levels of
achievement. We can teach many
things in this new age of information, but we must never loose sight of core
competencies--this is the priority.

Others aspects:

2nd language competence

core history, geography, science

written and spoken english, think clearly and logically

math calculation and written expression

focus on general knowledge

demonstrates fundamental academic skills.

science through chemistry and physics

STEM competency and preparation in ES

Secondary Values -- The Learning

Life Skills:

Basic skills that every adult will need to excel as a capable,
adaptive, effective citizen, worker, and member of society. This includes problem solving, social
relationships, interpersonal skills, time management, organization,
responsibility for one’s actions, responsibility for own learning, decision
making. Also to include the core
knowledge and skills for an educated adult, goal setting.

There is a high correlation of life skills to academic rigor, but
it is somewhat different in that it really includes many basic skills that are
essential to being an effective member in
society. Much
of life skills pertains to cultivating a strong work ethic and attitude to be
successful. Life skills also
relates to character below.
There are essential character attributes that relates to a child/adults
resiliency and it is this character values that drive the work ethic and
manifest themselves in the life skills of a student.

Important note: a significant number of respondents talked about
life skills on the lower levels of this definition, such as basic math,
balancing a check book. In
this survey, I focused on the highest concepts of attainment and favored
highest definitions of life skills.

Creating an ideal environment and an ideal reaction in the
student the drives the engine of inquiry and curiosity. Cultivating students that love
learning. Using instruction to
inspire, engage and create a thirst for knowledge and understanding of the
world. Can include and leads to
life long learning. A common
aspect in this and academic rigor was the ability of the student to learn how
to learn--the ability to teach themselves. Strong emphasis on responsibility for ones own
learning. The key measure
that respondents see as evidence is engagement.

Work Ethic -- Secondary Value

In sum, work ethic can be described as fostering in students
productive work habits and cultivating young adults who are responsible for their
own learning. This closely relates
to life skills. It includes the ability to work
independently, manage time and organization. Place a high expectation on the students to be
responsible for their own learning, productivity, and quality of performance.

Clear Expectations

high expectations--a strong response

doing your best

Primary Values -- The Student

Character

The primary aspect of character that was very strong in this
response was the element of respect and self-respect. Also notable was honesty, integrity, compassion and
responsibility. A feature of
character also came out which related to work-ethic which was perseverance,
“true grit” and ability to over come obstacles. There is a lot of over-lap
between character work-ethic and passionate learning. Character was highly valued by students.

Work-Ethic

In all groups there was a clear acknowledgement of the power in a
strong work ethic. A primary
attribute was responsibility and in particular, responsibility for ones own
learning. A common phrase
was “responsibility for ones own learning”. It also includes focused on growth, hardworking, goal
setting, organized, self-motivated.
Work ethic was strongly valued by students and was overwhelmingly the
highest value for high school and middle school students.

Passionate-Learner

Closely related to work ethic and character, this was an
attribute that was particularly valued by adults. It relates to the notion of a student that has
intrinsic drivers to learn and is motivated by a love of learning, inquiry,
curiosity, knowledge seeking, connection making and risk-taking. Many qualities that were recognized in
21st century academic rigor were associated with a passionate learner.

Secondary Responses -- The Student

Service

The concept of service mindedness--particularly selflessness and
concern for others. This was
notably strong in the student response where they appreciated and valued those
students who were willing to help other students.

Primary Values -- The Teacher

Passion for Teaching

Engaged, enthusiastic, inspiring presence in the classroom. Ability to motivate and engage with
students in the subject that they are learning. Loves teaching and loves the students. Teachers are seen as the driving force
in a students lives and the ones who have the greatest ability to light the
fire in a students love for learning.

Character

Character traits related to the relationships with students,
specifically to empathy, nurturing, and understanding. But also as relates to the nature of
the teacher as a role model--notably with the students. The ideal of teacher as fair,
impartial, consistent, non-judgmental, honest and earns respect from piers and
students. Patience, dedication,
perseverance. The students
specifically noted the desire for respect for their weaknesses.

Instructional Ability:

This is a wide range of ideals from being prepared, organized,
well developed lessons, to being innovative, creative and open minded in their
approach, clarity of ideas, professional.
Responses indicated a high expectation for teachers to be continual
learners in achieving mastery of their craft. Also, a key aspect of instructional ability was
personalization--the ability to teach to different styles and the belief that
every child can learn. A
very noticeable comment from students was the ability of the teacher to
recognize when they need help--this was highly valued in elementary school
students. The concept of teacher
work-ethic was also prominent in the responses.

Relationships:

A key aspect in all groups was the student teacher
relationship. This was most
pronounced in the student responses. The students were very responsive to student teacher
relationships and expressed--the common phrase was teachers that loved
students.

Support:

The availability and accessibility of the teacher to help
students in need and the ability to recognize when students need help. This was not a primary response from
the adults, but from the students -- at all levels--this was probably the most
primary response. There was
also a very notable character trait that the students noted--dedication,
teachers that were not willing to give up on them.

Secondary Values -- The Teachers

Personalization:

Finding ways to make the instruction relevant to the
student. Also finding ways to
adjust instruction in a way that the student can related to. This is also related to multiple
pathways to learning.
Also related to this was the teachers ability to show relevance of what
was being taught to how it relates to students in the real world.

High Expectations:

The level of expectations placed on students by the teachers was
highly valued. Also it should be
noted that clear expectations were also valued.

Humor:

Very notable from the students response was the teachers ability
to interject humor, fun and play into the classroom.

Communication/Listening:

Valued by both adults and students. It was particularly noted that students were very
appreciative of teachers abilities to listen and hear what they were
saying. Communication was a
key part in the student teacher and parent teacher relationships.

Primary Values -- Community Parent Support

Involvement

The primary aspect of involvement related to parents being
actively engaged and aware of their child’s education and participation in
activities of the school. This
included an interest in academics, what is being taught and how it was
evaluated. This also related to
parents pride in their schools and valuing education. Evidence of this involvement was a strong PTG, attendance of
school activities and functions. Cooperation and partnering with teacher about
child’s education and contributing to decisions at the school board and
direction of the school.
Involvement did not relate just to parents but also to community
members. There were numerous
comments about connection of the school to the community and school activities
connected within the community, such as internships, community service, and
having multiple places to learn within the community.

Involvement of the parents in the child’s education was highly
valued by high school students.

Communications

Communication was highly valued and this meant communication in
all forms. There was emphasis on
communication in multiple forms, and through various channels. This included communication between
parents and teachers as well as communication of the school to all community
members. Communication was
seen as a two way street, where community feedback and input was receptive and
welcome on the board and administrative level as well as from the parents to
the teachers. Communication was
also seen as being responsive to parents.
It appears that there can never be enough communication.

Support/pride

Support was closely related to involvement and included parental
support for teachers and the learning.
Support was also identified in relationship to discipline issues. It was more prominently used in terms
of the larger community’s support for the schools and understanding the
challenges a school faces in trying to fund and deliver high quality
education. But it also went beyond
financial support of the taxpayers to community members finding ways to help
the school and support high quality education. There was a desire to have the community invested in our
children and schools. Pride
was a key element of support and relates to communication and involvement. There was notable comments on the
desire to have the community have ownership and speak supportively of the
school.

Secondary Values -- The Community

Cooperation

Cooperation spoke to sharing common goals within the community
for our children’s education. It
also mentioned the level of cooperation between parents and teachers.

Relationships

Relationships were also seen as a key element of support for the
school. Strong relationships were
valued between parents and admin.
Relationships were cultivated through strong connections to the
community, parents and students.